Life Application Activity Cools

By Allison Bell

News July 11, 2024 at 04:58 PM

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U.S. individual life insurance application activity was 6.4% lower in June than in June 2023, according to MIB Group.

The life insurance group says activity for people ages 71 and older increased 3.4% and that the number of whole life applications they submitted increased more than 10%.

Activity for members of all other age groups fell, year-over year.

In May, the index fell 0.6%.

What it means: The results could be a sign that older people are buying more final expense insurance or making more use of whole life to serve as a vehicle for paying for long-term care.

Age breakouts: Here's what happened to activity for each age group between June 2023 and the latest month:

Ages 0-30: -4.7%
Ages 31-40: -8.1%
Ages 51-60: -9.4%
Ages 61-70: -4%
Ages 71 and older: +3.4%

Coverage costs: Policygenius, a web broker, creates monthly price charts based on the prices that term life issuers offer Policygenius customers.

The lowest price is for a 25-year-old female nonsmoker who needs $250,000 in death benefits. The highest price is for a 60-year-old male smoker who needs $1 million in coverage.

For July, the cost for the young, female nonsmoker with just $250,000 in coverage increased to $14.44, from $14.60 a year earlier. The cost for the 60-year-old male smoker with a $1 million policy is $1,621.84.

In 2023, the highest age included in the Policygenius index table was 55. For 55-year-old male smokers, the cost of $1 million in coverage increased to $1,006.89, from $1,006.82.

The premium figures have not changed from what they were a month earlier.

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